The Walking Dead recorded an all-time high for AMC last night (Sunday), pulling in 10.9 million viewers.

Remarkably, the zombie drama's third season opener 'Seed' managed a 5.8 demo rating with 18-49 adults, outperforming all cable and even terrestrial launches this fall including The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and The Voice.

The Walking Dead's huge figures represent cable's highest ever rating for a drama series in US TV history.

Never previously had an episode of The Walking Dead topped the 9 million-viewer mark.

Charlie Collier, president of AMC, said in a statement: "Thank you to the fans for making The Walking Dead such a tremendous success. We are honoured and humbled that television's largest adult audience resides on AMC.

"So many people on both sides of the camera worked tirelessly on this project, and I thank and congratulate each of them for their amazing contribution."